Now he was gone. She had to accept that and move on. He wasn’t the first of her team to die, and he wouldn’t be the last.
A glance around the camp showed many of Aero’s people still asleep. These were her new allies, and the timing was perfect, what with Reckoning Day and all. Often, groups would make alliances right before it went down, for a better chance of survival. Afterward, they would then go their separate ways.
Still remembering the throbbing of Aero inside of her, the resistance of his cock against her as she rode him, she smiled and hoped that wouldn’t be the case. She wanted this alliance to last, and she wouldn’t mind having that opportunity again.
Kale poked his head into the tent, smiled to see her awake, and stood aside, holding the tent flap for her. “Aero is just filling his water, then he’ll be ready, and—”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh…” Kale glanced around, uncomfortable. “I figured you had given him permission. He plans on accompanying us, says he has an upgrade or two in store.”
“Fucking prick,” she mumbled, taking a deep breath and ignoring the way Kale watched her chest rise and fall. Of course, this had all been so Aero could access the rock.
“Does that mean you’re not letting him come?”
She laughed. “Oh, he came. I already fucking let him do that last—”
“Letha?”
With a sigh, she waved her hand. “Hell, I want this alliance to hold. Sure, let him join us.”
Kale lingered, adjusted himself, and glanced around.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Swollen,” he said, actually blushing and looking down. “Worked it pretty good last night.”
She laughed, cocked her head, and said, “Show me.”
“I thought you said you didn’t want to see any more until after Reckoning Day?”
“My exact words were no more ‘erect’ cocks,” she corrected him, then stood with her arms folded, mouth in a fake pout.
“Hey, keep up that face and it might get there,” he replied, but then rolled his eyes, stepped closer, and pulled down his trousers. Sure enough, his dick looked twice its normal limp size, but wasn’t even starting to get erect.
“Ouch, what do you do with that?” she asked. “Put an ice pack on it?”
He laughed, covered himself and shrugged. “You can put an ice pack on your pussy, but I’m not doing that. I’ll wait it out, I guess?”
Again, he lingered.
“That wasn’t all that’s on your mind, huh?” she asked.
He stared at her, expression hard, jaw clenched, and shook his head. “As much as I think it gets easier, it never really does.”
“Ghost?”
“Him, all of them.” Kale sighed. “Everything.”
She held out her arms and he went to her, letting her hold him in an embrace. Resting her head on his chest, she squeezed him tightly and said, “Don’t you fucking die on me, you hear?”
“Hey, I’ve always said you and me are going down together, right? Me, you, and Brink. All going down on each other together.” He laughed, but she hit him and pushed him away.
“Don’t ruin a good moment with a stupid joke,” she muttered. She turned to grab her weapons before following him out.
As they walked, she saw the nurse from the night before, but now she was wearing special forces style body armor. It suited her. Letha thought it was weird initially meeting someone naked and squirming, but this wasn’t the first time it had happened.
“You’re coming with us, too?” Letha asked, as the woman fell in next to them.
“With your permission,” she replied.
“What do I call you?”
The woman grinned, then shrugged. “Nurse, or Sexy Nurse if you want.”
“Seriously?”
“I kinda like it,” Nurse replied. “On the outside, my parents wouldn’t let me do shit. If they knew I was here, they’d explode.”
“Oh, no….” Letha paused, looking Nurse up and down. “Please don’t tell me… Trustafarian?”
She ran her fingers through her hair. “My parents were rich, sure. I still have every right to be here, same as you.”
Letha despised this type—likely born and raised among the elite, caught wind of Planet Kill when they were too young and sheltered to really understand it. They’d decide to go off on a self-discovery adventure when they realized they couldn’t live like the sheltered little ‘angels’ their parents wanted them to be, and get themselves in over their heads.
Here, Nurse could blow away all the poor people she wanted, suck a dick on intergalactic television, and go around calling herself “Nurse,” all without repercussions. Well, other than death and dismemberment.
“Do we have a problem?” the bratty, rich-kid side of Nurse came out with those words, and it was all Letha could do to stop herself from smacking the stupid out of this chick.
If Letha didn’t handle this, a screen would pop up at any minute with bids for ways she would have to end this bitch. Considering that they’d just made an alliance with Aero and his group, that wouldn’t do. Also, at the moment she was about as done with fighting and fucking as she could get. She needed to replenish herself for that evening, when the recruits would arrive.
“Keep yourself in line,” Letha warned the young woman. “You think you’re hot stuff? Why? Because your parents told you that you could be whatever you wanted? ‘Just put your heart and soul into it, and you can accomplish anything?’ Well, guess what sweetheart, out here that attitude will get you sliced and diced into little bitty pieces of ‘Rich Kid Sexy Nurse,’ you understand?”
“Is that a threat?”
“That’s your first lesson from me as your new boss. Now get the fuck back into your nurse outfit and go back to camp with the others. You aren’t coming with us.”
Nurse pouted. She turned to see Aero was standing nearby with a troubled frown. He’d heard it all.
“Aero—” Nurse started, but he shooed her off.
“How dare you?” he glared at her, lowering his voice. “We just formed an alliance with one of the most powerful clans here, and you embarrass us like this?”
“They were one of the most powerful,” Nurse protested, “until yesterday.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Letha demanded. Sure, she’d lost some of her people, but that wasn’t as big of a setback as these two were making it sound. Before they’d had a chance to answer, she saw Trunk standing at the edge of camp.
His skin was covered in blood, his loincloth loose. He’d clearly just come from battle.
“Somebody tell me what the fuck is going on!” Letha demanded, turning from Aero before he even had a chance to answer, and storming over to Trunk. “Where is she? Where’s Grinder?”
He shook his head, clenching his jaw in anger at himself.
“You lost her?”
“It’s not even that,” he said. “It’s worse. Yes, she got away, but there were others. They were making their way past where we’d been, so I got suspicious, figured I’d follow them before coming back.”
“Shit,” Letha was already starting to guess where this was going.
“They knew where our base was and went straight for it. At least twenty of them, and like the groups we saw with Fireshot, only these guys were fresh. I attacked, took out five before they realized I was there. Then our team at the base saw them and went on the defensive, but we lost a couple. We’re hurting real bad, Letha.”
“Dammit,” she said, glancing at her new allies. Would they stay with her, knowing this? If she had lost the base, she’d be on the lower end of the deal.
“We need to get to the base, now,” she ordered. Realizing they might need all the help they could get, she swallowed her pride and turned to Aero. “Grab whoever you need, and get ready to prove this alliance means something.”
He nodded, throwing a look at Nurse.
“Anyone,” Letha stressed, then beckoned for Kale and Brink to join her. �
��Keep an eye on them, but mostly this is about ensuring we don’t lose the base. We need the healing springs; we need the damn upgrade station. If we lose those, we’re toast.”
“Roger that,” Brink said, and Kale nodded.
“Let’s get going then,” she finished. They started marching for the gate. As she passed Trunk, she covered her nose. He smelled of sweat and death. “Take a fucking bath.”
“I’ve been running all night, fighting all night.”
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and be rational. “Can you fight a little more?”
He looked doubtful but nodded. “No rest? Got it. I’ll drop dead of exhaustion for you if necessary.”
“This isn’t the time,” she said, scowling. “If you need a fucking nap, do it. If you think you can fight, hold onto your balls and gear up, it’s going to be a wild one.”
She didn’t bother to wait for a response, but stormed off, heading for her base.
14
Shit!
Transport Ship: Six Hours Until Reckoning
With no one in the corridor, Pierce hurried to get his suit back into the ejection chamber, then locked the inner hatch. He entered the command for an ejection.
Evidence of his nefarious arrival was gone in an instant. Now all he had to do was find a way to blend in and not draw attention.
An overhead speaker blared propaganda and words of encouragement.
“Contestants from all walks of life have the opportunity to partake in the beauty of Planet Kill. Anyone, with the right motivation, can achieve his or her wildest dreams.”
Pierce grimaced at the words. “Anyone, with the right motivation and connections, can achieve forcing anyone else to fulfill their wildest dreams for them,” he whispered to himself, as he snuck into an alcove.
He took a few minutes to complete a thorough examination of the ship’s schematics on a device attached to his forearm. The only way into the main holding area where other ‘real’ volunteers were kept under wraps was a waste chamber. This was not what he had in mind when he embarked on this personal mission, but it was the best way in if he wanted to avoid detection.
He held his breath and his nose and dove into the stinking pit of feces and urine. While wildly flailing to get to the opening into the main passenger hold, he had a realization. His passage through the piss and the shit would have made for great ratings for a certain niche group of viewers. Too bad, he thought, spitting out a goopy blob of something he didn’t want to know the nature of. This would have been a nice initial boost to my points.
He clambered up and hurled himself into the small tunnel. Normally he would have been leery of the dark and narrow passageway but getting out of the room of reeking horror took priority over his safety.
After a few seconds of scrambling through the darkness, he pushed his way out the other side and found himself smack dab in the bottom of a shit box. Not just any shit box, but what seemed to be porta-potties that smelt more like freshly cut wood than shit and piss. It reminded him of training at the Academy, when they had to live in the woods for a week. Mostly, they relieved themselves in the trees, hidden at least from onlookers. Between training exercises, they camped out in tents. They’d had access to porta-potties made of wood, with wide openings that they’d had to hover over since the gaps were too wide for popping a squat.
Above, he saw hope. A light. He waded to the side and levered himself up until he could grab onto the precipice of the opening. Somehow he pulled himself up and over. He collapsed over the top and onto the now-soaked floor covered in the disgusting ooze he’d brought with him.
He tiptoed out of the stall and peered around. The toilet room was full of desperate volunteers who had the shits from nerves and fear.
Pierce had no choice, really. He had to venture out and find a way to clean himself off. Without hesitation or fear of judgment, he casually strolled out. On his walk through the toilet room, he caught a few wayward glimpses of disgust but ignored them. Eventually, he found a showering room. Everyone else was catching a quick shower in the nude, but Pierce marched inside without removing his clothes. Right there in the middle of them all, he let the water rush over him, hoping that the stench would go away. The ration one person was allowed ran out in a hurry, though, and a guard barked at him for taking too long.
Pierce scurried out and tried his best to dry off between the air dryers that blew constantly at the exit. He took a moment longer than others to try to get his clothes dry. Once outside the shower room, Pierce stumbled into the sleeping chambers. He made a dash for the first empty, unused cot he saw. The tired volunteers on either side tried to shoo him off.
“You reek,” the one to the left said. “What did you do, take a bath in shit?”
“Yes,” Pierce answered, deadpan. “Cleanses my pores.”
The one on the right shoved him off the cot. “Get the fuck out of here. We won’t get any rest with you stinking up the place.”
“Careful,” Pierce warned. “Wouldn’t want you to get thrown off early for fighting before we arrive.”
“It would be worth it to get rid of you,” the one on the right said.
Sensing this was a no-win situation, Pierce stood up and walked along the cots, looking for one that was more isolated. He wasn’t having any luck until a young woman waved at him from several feet away.
Pierce edged closer but tried to keep a little distance, considering he still smelled as grossly as he did. The young woman didn’t say anything when he approached her. Instead, she pointed at the cot next to her. She then lay down and closed her eyes to get some rest.
Sleep wasn’t going to come for Pierce, and he was surprised anyone was even trying. He thought maybe this girl already had a plan for how she was going to survive Reckoning Day, and have a shot at survival. Maybe sticking near her wasn’t such a bad idea.
Pierce closed his eyes anyway and tried to picture his lost wife, but he couldn’t quite focus with his nostrils still full of the smell of the sewer.
Then a loud grunting noise drew his attention. He opened his eyes and saw that a large man was trying to get into the young woman’s cot. Pierce levered up and readied to take a swing at the guy. Before he got the chance, the woman planted a boot into the attacker’s crotch, then elbowed his nose. The guy stumbled backward, holding his crotch and bloody nose, but not before snatching up the woman’s small food ration packet. Now she was going to go hungry on the most important day of her life.
She didn’t scream out, though. She simply lay back down and kept her eyes open this time.
Pierce, for his part, pulled out the backup rations that he’d snuck onboard inside his suit, and unsealed the package. Then he handed a packet to the young woman. She was hesitant to accept it at first. Pierce placed the packet on her cot and lay back down on his. After a few seconds, she finally took it and snuck it inside her clothes.
She flashed a smile his direction, then scooted over so that there was room for Pierce to join her.
He shook his head. “No, that’s okay. You don’t owe me anything. Just returning the favor,” he said.
The young woman still didn’t speak. She just stared at Pierce like he was crazy.
“Well,” Pierce continued, “this has been a wonderful conversation, but I’m going to try one more time to get some shuteye. I suggest you do the same. It’s going to be a rough morning.”
The woman kept staring at him, maybe surprised. She pretended to close her eyes but snuck a peek at Pierce a few times.
Pierce could feel her gaze, but it didn’t bother him. If anything, it was a comfort. The feeling that he wasn’t completely alone helped ease his nerves.
15
Upgrades
Planet Kill, Letha’s Base: Morning of Reckoning Day
Arriving at her base was like returning home to find the door kicked in. Today, Letha’s crew was finalizing two new graves, trees had been knocked down and grass scorched.
“Give me the details,” Le
tha demanded as she stormed past the two graves and into her base. There she found Aisha sitting cross-legged on the ground, fidgeting with one of the monitors. All of them were broken, except the one in her hands. She looked up with tears in her eyes.
“We saw them coming, and were able to set up some explosives,” the younger woman explained. “There were too many, though. We fought them off, but not before they were able to do damage.”
“Fuck. Fuck!” Letha scanned the room now seeing the stains of blood against the far wall and on the floor in several spots. “Keep getting it cleaned up, I’m taking a bath.”
“Ah….” Aisha choked-back a sob.
“Spit it out,” Letha demanded.
“The fighting went to the springs as well… there was a body. Blood. We’re working to clean it out, but—”
“FUCKKKKK!” Letha kicked one of the destroyed monitors, then spun around and punched the wall in her frustration. Suddenly she froze, chest rising and falling, as she stared at Aero in the doorway.
He sucked in through his teeth. “Looks like you made an alliance at just the right time.”
“You still need me more than I need you,” Letha snarled, flipping him off.
“Hey, hey, all I’m saying is that I’ve got friends, too. Other groups are interested in being my ally, some are even talking about doing so to lay siege to your base. Now that you’re weakened, that might happen sooner than later. Am I wrong?”
“For all I know, you were part of this,” Letha hissed, stepping toward him, hand slipping into her shocker. “You seduced me, keep my eyes on the one-eyed monster while the real monster was back here killing my people, destroying my home.”
“No.”
“That’s all you have to say in your defense?” She mocked. “No?”
“That’s right. I’m not involved, and I’m not on trial. You want friends, or more corpses? I can help you out with either, but I’m not going to stand here defending myself and pleading for your faith in me. Fuck that.” He narrowed his eyes.
Planet Kill Page 13
